What is an Awning?

An awning is a protrusion or a pelmet kind of an architectural structure that nudges outwards from any building. It is generally used to protect the building wall against the extreme weather conditions but these days it has turned to a fantasy for many. The one’s made out of cloth or Rexene. The skeleton or the backbone of the awning is generally lightweight. It is anyhow quite a strong structure. The term awning is generally interchanged with the term ‘canopy’.

The awning can have three kinds of structures:

• Truss
• Space Frame
• Planar Frame

The areas like the windows, door openings and sidewalk aisles are generally covered by the awning. Many a times, the awnings that are pretty big are also used for the purpose of advertising and publicizing in bigger companies. The history of awnings dates back to the time of the Egyptian and Syrian civilizations. They were then made out of bamboo mats and woven cloth etc. But slowly and steadily, with development of technology, man has successfully created better materials like acrylic polyester and canvas cloth.

Why does one need an Awning?

An awning’s use is basically to provide that particular area of entrance of exit with protection. Rain, snow and sunlight falling on that one area are expected to be countered by the awning. If your house has a number of windows and doors that let in the rain or snow, then you surely need a canopy or an awning. These are generally fitted at an angle so that nothing gets accumulated on them and it slides down immediately. There are a number of awning types to select from. If you organize a number of gatherings in the front or rear of your house, then an awning can be a good idea to get a covered area. The material of the awning should be selected as per the general climate of the area. Even the open air restaurants can us awnings in order to provide a semi-covered area to its customers. The awning also prevents any damage that can be caused by very strong winds.

What are the benefits?

• You get a covered space that you can use for any purpose be it a recreation or a more formal affair.
  
• Children can enjoy a small play area under the awning.
• Certain parts of the awning can be also used to store the non-perishable goods.
  
• The building remains cleaner and looks beautiful for years together because of the awning.
• The usage and maintenance of the awning is easy as it doesn’t require much of cleaning.
• It is a cheaper proposition as compared to the other methods that are used to protect a building from any kind of weather damage.
• It adds to the complete look of the house and one can actually use it as a designing piece while furbishing your house.

Use an awning to make your house stand out from your neighbors!